Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet
by Knowing Angels
Summary: Two teenage Muggles are thrown haphazardly into the wizarding world.Nothing is as it seems, and there's no going back now. NOT SLASH. HPOC DMOC
1. Summer Plans

Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet

By Knowing Angels

Summary: Viviana and Halia thought they would have an uneventful summer mourning the death of Sirius Black. Until he came out of the closet...literally. HP/OC. NOT A SLASH!

Chapter One: Summer Plans

The sun was shining brightly on Edisto Beach, South Carolina in the early morning. Inside 2242 Cupid Street, two young women of seventeen were sitting, bleary eyed yet awake. A middle aged woman with dark red hair was standing before them, looking unsure. 

"Viviana? Are you listening to me?" The woman asked. The girl with dark auburn hair in tousled curls nodded dully. 

"Yes, Ma," the younger redhead replied. 

"And Halia?" The older woman said, attracting the attention of the brunette by the redhead's side. "You're sure you don't mind staying with Viviana while I'm away?" 

"You serious?" The girl asked, being entirely too cheerful for such an early morning. "'Course I don't, Ms. Séance." 

At this Ms. Séance looked from one innocent face to the other. Still not entirely sure if this was a good idea, she looked at the clock and sighed. She had to leave now or miss her plane. 

"Alright. I expect you to call my cell phone at least once a month, girls," the older woman finally stated with finality. 

"'Kay, Ma," Viviana replied dully. 

"Yes Ma'am!" Halia replied excitedly, earning a glare from her friend who muttered something about being too awake in the morning and stalked off into the kitchen. 

"Okay, girls, I gotta run!" Ms. Séance replied, picking up her suitcase and heading towards the door. "Remember, no parties, no drinking, no starting bad habits, and if I get a phone call from the police, girls, I will have your skins!" 

"We know, Ma," Viviana replied, walking out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. She was about to offer one to Halia, but then seemed to reconsider and handed it to her mother instead. Halia pouted and Ms. Séance kissed her daughter's cheek. 

"Alright, button, I love you," she said running out the door. She climbed into her car and revved the engine. She lowered her car window to remind them to "Be good!" before peeling out of the driveway, leaving the two girls standing in the doorframe. 

"No way," Viviana said in an amazed voice. 

"She went through with it," Halia replied, sounding equally shocked.

"Lia," Viviana said, a smile spreading on her face, "my Ma just left us in charge of the house for the summer!" 

"Oh, sweet," Halia replied, an impish look on her face. "She never said we couldn't use the boat, either." 

"Sweet," Viviana agreed. "very sweet." 

And so began a crazy, crazy summer. 

Three days later the house was in shambles. Pizza boxes lay scattered on the floor, empty Snapple bottles were stacked on the kitchen counter, and the dishes still needed to be done. Blankets and pillows lay on the floor before the TV from a late night movie festival the girls had hosted. Popcorn seemed imbedded in the carpet, and paper plates were all over. 

Viviana and Halia looked around the house, observing the damage. 

"Well," Halia said, "it seemed like a good idea at the time." 

"Don't they all," Viviana remarked mournfully. "This place is an absolute pigsty. If Ma could see it, she'd have a heart attack." 

"Right," Halia said resolutely. "Let's do it then." 

"Do what?" Viviana asked. 

"Clean," Halia said grimly. 

Viviana took a deep breath and looked around the house once more. She didn't even know where to start. She did know one thing-this would take all day.

Three hours later, the girls were still at it. The first thing Halia had done was search for the CD player in the mess and make a spot on the counter for it. ("You can't clean properly if you can't sing loudly and out of tune, Vivi.") 

The CD player was currently blasting one of Viviana's mother's Aretha Franklin CDs. Viviana had raised her eyes to high heaven when Halia insisted on listening to it. It was "old people music." Halia, however didn't seem to care. 

"Because I'm……" Halia sang, jumping up on the clean coffee table and holding using a feather duster as a microphone, "givin' him somethin' he can feel, to let him know this love is real……" 

Viviana laughed at her friend's antics. She had to admit that the music grew on a person after a while. Halia was right, too-music made cleaning go faster. She was also glad that the other girl had insisted on wearing athletic pants and tank tops. Although hardly decent, they were much more comfortable. 

"After all," Halia had insisted pulling her long brown hair into a messy pony tail, "Who's going to be seeing us?" 

Viviana flipped her braid over her shoulder and began cleaning the kitchen counter once more. The dryer buzzed in the laundry room. Viviana was about to go get the laundry when the phone rang. Sighing, she picked it up. 

"Hello?" She asked, holding the phone against her ear.

"Viviana?"

"Yes, this is she." 

"I know……" 

Viviana paused and pulled the receiver away from her, giving it a strange look. She leaned over and checked the caller ID: Unavailable. Frowning, she pulled the phone back to her ear. 

"Who is this?" 

"Derrick." 

Viviana groaned aloud, not caring if Derrick heard. Halia gave her friend a curious look and Viviana mouthed "It's Derrick." "My condolences," was Halia's unhelpful reply. 

"What do you want, Derrick?" Viviana asked acidly. 

"Listen, I just want to say sorry for that thing the other night," he rushed on.

"Derrick, you called my home at three in the morning. Mum picked up the phone!" Viviana burst out. "Do you know how much trouble I got into for that?" 

"Listen, I just wanted to see if we could hang out sometime-"

"-no," Viviana cut him off. "The last time Halia and I went out with you, Derrick, we ended up in a jail cell!" 

"Hey, that was your girls' faults!" Derrick protested.

"It was not! If it weren't for you we wouldn't have been caught!" Viviana retorted shrilly, her voice rising.

"Me? I did not get us caught!" Derrick shouted, his voice rising through the receiver so that Halia didn't have to strain to hear what he said. 

"You did too!" Halia put her two cents in. 

"Not only did you get us arrested, Derrick," Viviana continued coldly, "you ran away before the cops could catch you! You left us alone!" 

"I got you out, didn't I?" Derrick countered. 

"Eventually," Viviana spat out. 

"Fine. Whatever you want to believe. What are you doing, anyways? Is that Aretha Franklin?" Derrick's voice went from insulted to curious.

"Yes, and we're cleaning," Viviana replied, abandoning her anger just as easily. With a smirk she continued, "come on over if you want, Derrick. It's loads of fun." 

"Okay, I'll be right over," Derrick said. Viviana laughed and rolled her eyes. She was about to voice her doubts when she heard him hang up.

"I hate it when he does that," she mumbled, putting the phone down.

"He hang up?" Halia asked. 

"Yup," Viviana replied nonchalantly. 

"Scared of the idea of cleaning, I'm sure," Halia said with a laugh. 

"He actually said he was going to come over," Viviana said, her voice making it clear that she didn't believe him. 

"Right. He and Sirius Black," Halia said with a laugh before sobering. With a frown she turned to the display of Harry Potter books and looked sorrowfully at the Fifth Book. "May he rest in peace," she added sadly. 

Viviana sniffed, looking away to conceal the tears forming in her eyes, "Don't talk about Sirius. You know it always gets me started." 

The girls were about to take a fifteen minute break to ponder the reason for death, and why people they loved had to die. They didn't bother telling themselves that it was only a fictional character. They didn't need to hear it. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Sirius was dead, and he wouldn't be coming back. Ever. 

Viviana and Halia would have pondered all this, too. Except that the doorbell rang at that moment. This startled the girls from their morbid reveries. Viviana got up to answer the door. 

"Hey, Lia," Viviana called over her shoulder; "the sheets and towels are done. Would you mind getting them from the dryer so we can fold them?" 

"No problem, Vivi," Halia replied as she bounced off to the laundry room.

Halia's trip to the laundry room was rather uneventful. She found a basket and loaded the freshly laundered clothes into it. While Halia was busy doing this, Viviana opened the door.

Standing there was a boy about a year older than she. He was dressed in worn jeans and a black leather jacket. He styled his dark black hair in long spikes that stood out every which way, making it look as if he just climbed out of bed. This was a possibility. He was tall, six feet at the least. Behind his dark silver sunglasses were deep blue eyes that were sure to be shining in mischief. 

'Oh right,' Viviana thought distractedly as the boy in front of her smiled, 'this is why we went along with Derrick's crazy ideas. He's gorgeous.' 

"You came," was what Viviana said aloud. 

"I said I would," Derrick pointed out. 

"I still didn't think you would," Viviana replied, moving over so he could step inside.

"Would I lie to you, Vivi?" Derrick asked, feigning hurt.

"Yes," Viviana said simply. 

"Well, yes, probably," He said with a smirk. Viviana shook her head and started towards the living room. From inside she could hear Halia singing once again. 

"Hey, is that Halia?" Derrick asked with a bright smile. 

"Can't you tell by the voice and music choice?" Viviana asked with raised eyebrows. 

"Sure thing," Derrick replied with a grin. Then he cried, "Hey, Lia!" 

"No way, Vivi!" Halia called. "He came?" 

"Apparently," Viviana shouted back. 

"Put him to work," Halia demanded. 

"Aww, girls," Derrick began to complain as Viviana ushered him into the living room where Halia was sprawled out on the floor, folding towels. She grinned and waved her hi to Derrick before her eyes widened. 

"Omigod! Vivi!" Halia cried before grabbing Viviana's hand and pulling her out of the room. 

"Lia! Chill out!" Viviana said with a laugh. "I know you think Derrick's hot but-"

"-but look at what we're wearing!" Halia cried. Viviana looked down at her scanty outfit and blanched. Yes, it was all good when it was just Halia, but with a guy there? God, she was indecent! 

Five minutes later both girls came back downstairs with sweatshirts over their tank tops. They stopped on the threshold of the living room in utter amazement. Derrick was sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by folded towels. 

"Aww, look," Viviana said quietly. "He's doing something productive with his life!" 

"Oooh, Vivi," Halia crooned, "can we keep him?" 

"Shut up, you two," Derrick snapped. He stood to thrust a pile of neatly folded towels into Halia's arms. "Go put those away," He ordered. 

"Hile Hitler!" Halia cried, trying to salute but finding it difficult. Giving Viviana a smile, she walked out the door towards the linen closet. 

Halia paused to look at the door. It really was a pretty closet. It was made of dark cherry wood, and had flowers engraved into it. She knew that Viviana's mom hated that door because it was "too dratted girly", but it was Halia's personal favorite. 

Shaking her head with a grin, she reached out and opened the door. All the towels and bed sheets were folded and put away perfectly. Halia walked into the closet and began stacking her towels in an empty space. When she was finished she stepped out of the closet and closed the door. She admired it once more for a moment before walking away. 

Suddenly Halia heard a crash from behind the Flower Door. She frowned and reached out to open the door, wondering what fell. That's when the door swung open. Standing there was a gaunt man in his late thirties. His long black hair and haunted eyes were unmistakable. Halia's mouth fell open as she looked at him. 

"Omigod, it's you," She whispered in awe. 

"Do I know you, kid?" The British man said with a raised eyebrow. He looked around his surroundings calmly.

"Omigod," Halia whispered once more before dashing away from him into the living room.

Viviana had been overseeing Derrick work, and looked up when she saw Halia hurry in looking flustered. 

"What's up, Lia?" Viviana asked with a quizzical look. 

"VIVIANA," Halia cried at the top of her voice, "SIRIUS BLACK JUST CAME OUT OF THE CLOSET!"

"Halia," Viviana said, her voice near tears once again, "you know what a touchy subject this is. And how can you say that about him? You shouldn't speak ill of the dead! Sirius Black was NOT gay!" 

"No, no, Vivi!" Halia cried, feeling faint. "I'm serious. He just wandered out of the closet! Right now!" 

"Halia," Derrick said with a worried frown, "Maybe you should sit down, honey." 

At that moment the doorframe was blocked by a tall figure. Viviana's mouth fell open as she surveyed the thin man with long black hair. Although in his late thirties, he was still handsome. He was also very familiar. In fact, she would recognize him anywhere.

"Sirius Black," Viviana whispered.

"He's real," Derrick said in mild shock. 

"Yes," Sirius said warily, looking at each of the three teens in turn. "I'd like to know how you Muggles know who I am." 

One by one, the two girls and Derrick pointed to the Harry Potter series on the shelf. Sirius frowned and walked over to the books. He gazed at the cover before picking one off the shelf and flipping through it. All of a sudden he stopped, looking angry. 

"Damn it, you Skeeter cow! They aren't supposed to know all this!" Sirius growled. 

A/N (Angel Black1): First of all, I think I ought to let you all know that there are two of us in on this insane idea, although I can happily take credit for the closet and Sirius coming out of it. I was the author of this chapter, and my co-authoress, Never Knowing, is currently hard at work on chapter two. So if you like the story and want more, crack your whip at her through a review and maybe she'll post faster! If you don't want more, I'm curious as to why you're bothering to read the author's note. Anywho, it's up to NK. If you have any comments or questions just click the little review button and let us know.

  
  


A/N (Never Knowing): First of all, I should let you know that the arrival of Sirius by means of closet was MY idea, AB here just expanded on the story plot, such as the setting and general outline of the first chapter. And I'm partway through Chapter 2 as we speak, so be prepared for an update soon. So have fun, all, review, and let the two of us know what you think of our crazy works!


	2. Questions

Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet 

By Knowing Angels

Summary: Viviana and Halia thought they would have an uneventful summer  
mourning the death of Sirius Black. Until he came out of the closet.  
Literally. HP/OC. NOT A SLASH!

Chapter Two: Questions

Pause. During this moment, both Halia and Viviana had made up their minds, that this man, most definitely, was Sirius Black.

"Skeeter?" Halia asked incredulously, for although she believed the man was Sirius Black, it was rather unbelievable. "As in... Rita Skeeter? The witch?!"

"One in the same," Sirius Black replied with a mad glint shining in his eyes.

"What does she have to do with this?" Viviana asked.

Sirius paused, taking in a breath strained through his teeth. "It would appear that this," he stopped, turning to the cover of the book, "J.K. Rowling," he spat haltingly, "Is in fact, one Rita Skeeter."

"What?!" Viviana shouted.

"Right, sure," Derrick said with doubt. "Why would she talk about herself like she's so evil if in fact-"

At that moment, however, Derrick was pulled backward. Halia and Viviana were looking at him intently.

"What?" he asked the two, pulling their hands off of his shoulders. In the background, Sirius could be heard saying, "For a good story, why else?" as if it were obvious.

"Don't you think," Halia began, "that we should give him the benefit of the doubt?"

"After all," Viviana said, "he is Sirius Black. And he's standing in my living room." She looked back at Sirius.

"Is he? I mean, are we sure?" Derrick asked.

"I know Sirius Black. And I know my own living room," Viviana said. "And that-" she pointed to Sirius, "-is most definitely Sirius Black, standing in my living room."

Derrick sighed, rolling the thoughts over in his mind. "I suppose you're right," he said slowly, making sure that everyone knew he was slightly uncertain.

"Speaking of which, how did he get here?" Halia asked. "I mean, he's supposed to be... well... you know..."

The group turned, simultaneously, to look at the man standing in the middle of the semi-clean room. He had begun flipping through book four, periodically muttering things like, "How did she know?" and "All for a Galleon. Exposing our world for a Galleon."

"Well?" Derrick asked, as the circle reformed.

Viviana crept slowly toward Sirius, barely making a sound. "Er... Mr.... um, Sirius? Sir?" she said. Sirius jerked his head up. Viviana thought for a minute, trying to think of a question that wouldn't reveal his fate if he had not died yet.

"Well, er, Sirius, we wanted to know..." Halia began, trying to take over. She looked back to the other two, biting her lip, unsure of herself.

"How old Harry is!" Viviana shouted quickly, eliciting a questioning look from Derrick. "We wanted to know how old Harry is. So?" She said this all too quickly, with all the pride of someone who just figured out a complex math problem.

"What's the date?" Sirius asked, not missing a beat. He eyed the three suspiciously, knowing full well that they were hiding something.

"Erm..." Halia said.

"July..." Viviana began, then stopped, as it was discovered she didn't know the date. Mentally, she was trying to decide if she had been out of school for six weeks or only five. How long ago was June 13?

"Twenty-seventh," Derrick said.

"2003!" Halia shouted, eager to point out she did know the year.

"July 27th 2003?" Sirius asked. He squinted, deep in thought. He furrowed his brow. He bit his tongue. He answered the original question. "Almost 17."

"Then you have died!" Halia blurted out. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth.

"She wrote about that too?!" Sirius roared. "That absolute COW!"

"So it's true? You died?" Viviana asked, her voice a whisper.

"No, well yes, in a way. But not really," Sirius said. "I mean- It's complicated."

The room went silent. A quiet breeze fluttered through the room, brushing the top paper plate out of the garbage can. It rolled across the floor, and landed, pizza-sauce side up, at Sirius' feet.

"So... What happened?" Derrick asked, breaking the quiet.

Sirius laughed, a short 'ha!' "Where do I start?"

"Well, how about around the time you went into the curtain? And then just... Well, continue from there?" Halia said.

"And of course, add why you're not dead," Viviana said, finishing with a smile, which she quickly wiped off of her face once she realized what she was saying. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but it would help to know..."

Sirius shook his head, and answered, "I'll tell you.

"The Department of Mysteries," Sirius began. His eyes began to lose focus, taking him back in time, to Harry Potter's fifth year. "Well, I suppose you know about The Veil." The three nodded.

Sirius took a deep breath, and sat down on the sofa. "I wasn't dead before I fell through. The curse that hit me was a simple repelling charm. It only worked to force me backward, through The Veil."

"So then, why didn't you come back out? If you weren't dead?" Derrick asked.

"The Veil is a one-way object. It's also the entrance to the Land of the Dead. So in a way, when I went through, I did die."

_"No, Sirius," the man had said to him. "You cannot go back."_

_Sirius ignored him. He walked up to the Arch, the single piece of furniture in the – could you call it a room? It seemed like empty space._

_He could see through, the curtain seemed transparent. On the other side, Harry was still fighting. Harry. He needed to get back._

_Sirius threw himself at the curtain. But his hand hit an invisible wall._

_"You cannot go back," the man repeated. "The Veil is a doorway in. It only goes one way._

_"You are in the Land of the Dead now, and here you shall stay." The man turned, and began to glide through the grey mist of the space._

_"But why am I the only one here?" Sirius shouted back. "Shouldn't there be others? And why can't I go back?"_

_"There are always others. You shall meet them. And it is not to be questioned, just accepted. You have died. You cannot go back."_

"But somehow, I knew that if there was a way in, there must be a way out. And I hadn't really died. So I believed I could come back. That I had to come back," Sirius said.

"So I continued, I couldn't just give up. And I met others. The dead were everywhere. Everyone. They were all there." And somehow, though she would not come to realize it until much later, Viviana knew what he meant. "I knew," Sirius continued, "that if there was a way out, that I was the only one who could go through it, since I had not died like the others. So I continued.

"I nearly gave up, but-" he shook his head. "I got a second wind. And eventually, I stumbled into, and out of, your linen closet."

_"Sirius, please," Lily pleaded. "None of us can go. Do you not think we have tried?"_

_"Lily, I've nowhere to look. This place has nothing else. I've done all I can do," Sirius had replied._

_"There are... other... places you have not gone to. None of us have gone to," the man by Lily's side said. "We have only heard tell of them, but they are real. Sirius, you must."_

_"James, I can't," Sirius said._

_"For us, Sirius."_

_"James..."_

_"For Harry."_

_Sirius paused at this. Lily had said it. The two words defined what Sirius' search had started as. And now, he remembered. Why he was there. What he needed to do._

_As he began to turn away, after asking of these places, James turned to him. "Sirius. When you get to Harry- there are things we know here- tell him-"_

_"I have to get to Harry."_

Two hours later

The group of four walked down the cement pathway toward the setting sun. Viviana and Halia each carried two bags, filled with clothing and other essentials. The plans had been made. The three teenagers (Viviana had at one point asked why Derrick had to come, to which Halia replied, "Have you looked at him lately? Hotness!") would accompany Sirius to England, via North Carolina, and return him safely to Grimmauld Place.

Sirius turned behind him to look at dimming sky over the ocean. Thousands of miles away, Harry was there, waiting for him. Sirius had to be there for his seventeenth birthday, when Harry became of age.

"Oh no, Derrick, you are not driving!" Viviana shouted, breaking Sirius from his reverie.

The girl had grabbed the keys out of his hands, and stuffed them in her pocket. Derrick looked at her, cocking his head to the side, silently questioning whether or not Vivi believed that he would do it.

"Don't. You. Dare." Viviana glared out at Derrick.

"I was only saying that it would be entirely possible for me to get the keys if I really wanted to."

"Derrick, shut up," Halia said, pushing him out of the way as she jammed her bags into Viviana's trunk.

Ten minutes later, and they were on their way to Derrick's apartment. The girls refused to go up, knowing full well that they didn't want to see (or smell, as was more often the case) what was up there.

Sirius was sitting in the passenger seat, next to Viviana. He was still coming to grips with being alive again. And even after talking to the three, he wasn't quite sure if he trusted them. He got the chance to ask as many questions as he wanted on the trip to the Raleigh Durham airport in North Carolina.

"So how do you three know each other?"

"Well, Viviana and I have been friends since we were five, and went to school together until two years ago," Halia said.

"Yeah, my parents decided a nice boarding school was the place for me," Halia added sullenly.

_"Hi," the girl had said to Halia. "I'm Vivi."_

_"I'm Halia Grey," Halia had answered. "Do you like coloring? I color all the time. Here, share my crayons."_

_Viviana sat down, in the short blue chair, her legs swinging down, as she picked up the green crayon and started to fill in the grass on her coloring sheet._

"And Derrick Olin here," Viviana said. "Well, you tell him, Halia."

Halia took the lead. "We met him in seventh grade. Like second year," she added at Sirius' blank look. "He cheated off of Viviana's paper once, and blamed her for it. And somehow, we've been... Well, friends isn't really the word. We've tried to get rid of him for a while now. Accomplices is the term."

"I did not copy off of her! Viviana copied off of me," Derrick replied indignantly.

"Right," Viviana replied. "Sure. So then Derrick had to go and graduate, leaving me at school alone."

"You're still in school?" Sirius asked.

"Seniors- Seventh years- this fall," Halia replied.

"So, where were your parents?"

"Well, I don't live there normally, my parents are on a 'second honeymoon' so I'm staying with Vivi, whose mother went out of town for a two month on business," Halia replied.

"And your father?" Sirius asked Viviana.

Viviana sighed. "Do you want me to tell him?" Halia asked.

"No, I'll do it," Viviana replied. "I've never met my father. He and my mother were never married, so I don't even know what he was like."

"Was?" Sirius asked.

"He died five years ago, so I guess I never will meet him. It's not like he ever tried to contact me. All I got was some money from his will. I don't even share his last name."

"I- I'm sorry," Sirius said. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't. How could you know?" Viviana replied. "So don't worry about it, alright?"

In the next twenty seconds, the car jerked to the side of the road, a loud pop was heard, and the engine spluttered. The lights in the car faded, leaving the four in the dark.

"Oh this is so 'Destinos,'" Halia said.

-- A/N: Never Knowing: Well, here ends this. Next chapter: See the friends encounter the airport. Or will they get there? Will Vivana get her car fixed? Will we see Derrick topless? All these questions answered and more, in the next chapter.

And for all of you who don't know, Destinos is a Spanish soap opera, and the whole theme is a woman who travels everywhere around the world, searching for the son of her employer. Her car breaks down at least three times while she drives.

A/N: Angel Black: Derrick without a shirt, I think that can be arranged. I also loved the gorgeous plot hole you left me (NK points out that it's now filled... kinda). That was so sweet. (Note the heavy hint of sarcasm.) So I think the more pertinent question is: "Will Annah be able to fix Callie's massive plot hole?" I shall or die trying. (Oh come on, get over it.)


	3. Gang Aft Agle

Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet 

By Knowing Angels

Summary: Viviana and Halia thought they would have an uneventful summer  
mourning the death of Sirius Black. Until he came out of the  
closet...literally. HP/OC. NOT A SLASH!

Chapter Three: Gang Aft Agle

Halia looked over to at Viviana and (unsuccessfully) suppressed a giggle. When Viviana's gaze met Halia's, she too snickered indiscreetly. And so began an avalanche of wild laughter. After a murderous glare from Derrick, both girls ducked around to the back of the car and took deep breaths, trying to calm themselves. After several failed attempts, they succeeded.

"Are you two quite done?" Sirius asked dryly, not even bothering to look over at the girls.

"Nearly," Viviana replied in a rather chipper voice.

"Oh, hell," Halia responded. "I'm not."

"I still don't get what you two are laughing about," Derrick replied from somewhere in the engine.

Halia and Viviana caught one another's eyes once more and dissolved into laughter.

"Oh, honestly," Sirius snapped, now a bit peeved. "For Godric Gryffindor's sake, Derrick, put your shirt back on!"

"It's hot up here, though!" Derrick protested. "I'm the one who's fixing the engine, after all!"

Sirius stalked away from three other young people, muttering something about teenagers and hormones. Finally Viviana and Halia got themselves under complete control. After a moment, they heard Derrick's voice.

"When is the last time you got the oil changed, Viviana?"

"Uh..." Viviana replied, her head tipped to the side. "Two months ago?"

"No," Halia cut in slowly, "that was my car. We haven't changed your oil since Spring Break."

"Oh, that's right."

Derrick emerged from the front of the car, glaring at the two girls. The effect was somewhat lost, however, because the girls were gaping openly at him. He had indeed taken off his shirt to check the engine, and the girls couldn't help but notice how well he looked.

"Have we told you lately that you're hott, Derrick?" Viviana wondered aloud.

"I know, I'm only good to look at," Derrick assured her, though his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself," Halia chided, standing up. "You're handy for fixing cars, too."

"Damn good thing, too," Derrick snapped. "You should be getting your oil changed once a month. They even give you a little sticker that tells you when to change it. Ever notice it?"

"I didn't know it was that important," Viviana protested.

"Well, it is! Now we have to walk to the nearest town, which we passed half an hour ago, and get oil for this piece of crap!" Derrick shouted.

"My car is not a piece of crap!" Viviana yelled back. "Why don't you just use water?"

"Because if you use water, the entire engine will melt together! Why don't girls know anything about cars?" Derrick replied scathingly.

As soon as Sirius heard the shouting, he hurried back to where the car was. Halia, on the other hand, had edged away from the two. She'd seen their fights before, and refused to be part of another. So Sirius found the two irate teenagers looking as if they were about to pull wands and duel.

'Except they aren't wizards,' Sirius reminded himself. 'They're not like Harry.'

"What's the matter, you two?" Sirius calmly inquired, checking his own temper.

"Blondie here hasn't had her oil changed in about three months. Now we have to walk back to the nearest town, which will take hours, to get some," Derrick explained with a glare.

"I am not blonde," Viviana snapped.

"Had me fooled," Derrick sneered.

"Alright, let's just get going," Sirius suggested diplomatically. "Arguing won't get us there faster."

"Halia!" Viviana called. "Where are you?"

"I was hiding out," Halia replied while climbing out of the car.

"Right. Well, we're going to walk back to the next town. Grab our purses, okay?" Halia reached back into the car and tossed Viviana's purse to her. Then the four started down the road in not so companionable silence.

"This is entirely your fault, Vivi," Derrick accused after about twenty minutes.

"Stuff it, Derrick," Viviana and Halia chorused.

Two hours later, the foursome arrived in town. Derrick had once more removed his shirt. Halia and Viviana had taken off their sweatshirts, all sense of modesty abandoned. Sirius was still fully clothed, but he was beginning to consider following the young people's examples.

"So," Viviana began tersely, "where does one buy oil?"

"From a hardware store," Derrick drawled as if speaking to a small child.

Viviana glared at him once again and Halia said consolingly, "Don't worry, Vivi, I didn't know either."

Derrick leveled another sour look at the girls and entered a store on their left. A neon sign that read Dave's Hardware (with several lights burnt out) was flickering. A few mosquitoes could be heard buzzing around in the hot night air. Sirius, Viviana, and Halia followed Derrick in the store.

"Oil's in aisle six," A short, fat and balding man with grease stains on his shirt was saying.

"Thanks," Derrick said curtly and stalked off. Viviana and Halia offered the clerk small smiles and hurried after Derrick. Sirius followed close behind the girls, frowning as he saw the man leer at the two girls.

"Here," Viviana said taking the oil can from Derrick, "I'll buy it."

"All right," Derrick replied. He thought it better not to mention that he would have made her anyways. After all, better to let her think she was being benevolent.

They made their way up to the cash register where the man gave the girls no trouble after a poisonous look from Sirius and Derrick. They exited, with Derrick bemoaning, "Now we have to walk all the way back to the car!"

Halia, with her gaze focused on a group of teenage boys loitering in the parking lot drawled slowly, "We'll see about that."

Fixing a disarming smile on her face, she sauntered over to the group. Viviana watched on with a mixture of horror and awe as her friend flirted easily with the boys, who apparently were playing right into her hands. After a moment she smiled again and walked back to their group.

"They said they have room for two. They're heading that way, anyways," Halia said in a triumphant tone. "Vivi and I will go to the car, change the oil, and drive back for you two, okay?"

"Derrick and you will go," Sirius interrupted curtly. At Halia and Viviana's confused looks he clarified, "I was a teenage boy once, too. I'm not sending two girls with a group of sixteen year olds."

"They're eighteen," Halia corrected.

"Derrick's going."

"Oh, fine."

"Besides, Lia," Derrick added while slinging an arm over her shoulder, "neither of you will know how to change the oil."

"Point."

At the approach of Halia and Derrick, the boys exchanged uneasy glances. Apparently they hadn't been expecting the girl's "friend" to be male. Seeing their looks Derrick tightened his hold slightly on Halia, who gave him a scathing look. When had he become so possessive?

"Well," said the driver, who Halia introduced as Dan, "get in, you two."

"Thanks so much, Dan," Halia said with a sweet smile as she took a seat in the back. "We really appreciate your help."

"Yeah," Derrick said as he pushed Halia over to the window and sat next to her, "thanks." Halia once again glared at Derrick and turned to look out the window in moody silence.

Forty minutes later Viviana saw her car rolling down the road. Viviana could tell Halia was speeding by the way the dust billowed behind the car. The tires screamed as Halia jammed on the breaks and pulled the car to a stop. After shutting off the engine she stepped out saying, "Good as new!"

"Not that it'll last long the way you drive," Derrick complained.

"Oh, stop griping," Halia snapped. "I've had enough of you for tonight." Tossing the keys to Viviana she added, "I'm tired. You can drive."

"Damn," Viviana replied. "I was hoping to sleep." Looking to Sirius she asked, "You can't drive, can you?"

"Only flying motorcycles and I haven't seen that in sixteen years."

Viviana and Halia looked at one another for a moment and then nodded. Tossing the keys over to Derrick Viviana warned, "Just don't get us into an accident."

Derrick grinned and slid into the driver's seat while Sirius took shotgun. Halia and Viviana climbed into the backseat where they attempted to get comfortable. Soon they were fast asleep as Derrick drove them to the nearest airport under the pre-dawn sky.

Viviana was chatting lightly with a dark haired boy with bright green eyes and glasses. They were sitting by a lake, throwing bread to something in it. Suddenly he turned his gaze to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. His expression was solemn and determined. He murmured something as he looked away from her, over her shoulder. Then his face was hard set and on the verge of panic. He was shouting her name and shaking her.

"Vivi! Vivi!"

Her eyes snapped open to see Halia leaning over her, looking concerned. Looking over Halia's shoulder Viviana could see Sirius and Derrick looking back at her with worried expressions from the front seat. Halia backed up, letting Viviana sit up.

"Are you okay?" Halia asked with a confused look. "I just shook you a little to wake you up, and you nearly knocked me out!"

"Sorry," Viviana responded with a frown. "I was still dreaming, I guess."

"I see. Well, we're at the airport," Derrick informed her while getting out of the car.

An hour and forty five minutes later, the foursome was back at the car. Sirius was in a foul mood, muttering darkly about Muggle methods of traveling. Halia and Viviana were doing their best to avoid the older man. Surprisingly, Derrick was the calm one.

"It's no big deal," he assured Sirius in a pacifying tone, "we'll just find a hotel to stay in overnight. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"You don't understand," Sirius snapped. "I haven't seen my godson in two years. His seventeenth birthday is coming up, and I have to be there!"

"Mr. Black," Halia interjected timidly, but cut herself off at Sirius' glare.

"Don't call me Mr. Black. My father was Mr. Black."

"Uh...right...sorry," Halia apologized haltingly. "I just...I know you miss Harry and all but I'm sure you'll be there on time."

"Let's just find somewhere to sleep," Sirius commanded moodily, getting into the car. The three teenagers exchanged wary glances before slowly climbing into the car.

The strangeness of the situation was beginning to dawn on them all. A strange man had come out of Viviana's closet, who they had all assumed to be Sirius Black. The fact still remained however, that no proof had been offered. Now they were stuck with an angry stranger. They each were wondering, a little too late, what they had gotten themselves into.

The hostess at the hotel was shooting impatient glances at the four standing before her. The two girls looked uneasy, the boy was giving them an amused smirk, and the man was in a bad temper about something. With a sigh the hostess asked her question again.

"Would you like one or two rooms?" She was shooting strange glances between the girls and Sirius.

With a flush, Viviana realized what it must look like to her. Forcing her voice to stay calm, she turned to Sirius and said, "I dunno, Dad, what you think?"

Sirius frowned at the title, but responded as casually as possible, "Two, I suppose."

The girl behind the desk raised an eyebrow at them, but then was busy with the computer. After typing for a moment, she handed over two hotel keys.

"Rooms 309 and 310. I put you in adjoining rooms, but you can lock the doors if you'd like," She informed them brusquely.

"Thank you," Halia and Viviana murmured as they picked up their suitcases. They followed Sirius and Derrick into the elevator they were holding. Once the doors were closed, all three teenagers turned to Sirius. The raven haired man raised his eyebrows at them, and they exchanged uneasy glances.

"Listen, Sirius," Viviana began uneasily, "I realize this is after- the-fact and a bit awkward, but we need to know: how can we be sure you are who you say you are?"

Sirius considered them silently for a moment. Just when Viviana was sure that he wouldn't respond he smiled cynically and stated definitively, "You can't. You're right-I could be anyone. I'd like to point out how foolish it was for you to come all this way with a stranger who you didn't even trust," at this point he sent each a withering glare, "each of you. However," he continued with an almost sarcastic smirk, "I wouldn't have gotten this far if not for you three, so I suppose I have your foolishness to thank.

"Like I said, I can't convince you that I'm Sirius Black, but I can tell you that I'm from the wizarding world," Sirius continued, irritated, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small sack. He tossed it to Derrick, who caught it deftly. "There are Ten Gallons, seventy Sickles and six Knuts in there. As a Wizard, I can give you a Wizard's Oath that I will not harm any of you."

Halia and Viviana exchanged uneasy glances, still not completely convinced. He did have money that matched the description of the currency in the books. They didn't know much about Wizard Oaths, though. For all they knew, they didn't exist. Sirius saw that they still weren't convinced, and sighed in frustration.

"Here," He said, tossing one key to them. "You three can stay in your own room. I'm not asking you to travel to England with me, either. All I ask is that you get me on the air pain."

"Airplane," Halia automatically corrected. Sirius waved his hand dismissively.

"And I'm coming," Viviana added. "I know our house was locked, and Halia was in the closet a moment before you came out of it. I want to know what happened."

"Me too," Halia agreed. They both turned to Derrick.

"There's no way I'm letting you two wander around England on your own," He informed them. The doors opened with a ding, and the four moved down the hall to their rooms. The three teenagers said their goodnights to Sirius and walked into the room.

In half an hour, all three were washed up and in their pajamas. Halia and Viviana had their own beds, while Derrick had grudgingly taken the couch. With a yawn, Viviana turned over and fell asleep. This time she didn't dream.

Early the next morning all four were rushing into the airport. Their plane didn't leave for another five hours, but they wanted to be sure nothing went wrong. They were halfway up a flight of stairs when Viviana stopped short with a gasp.

"We don't have passports!"

Sirius swerved around to look at Viviana in confusion, "What do you mean? Why do we need passes?"

"Not passes," Halia replied with a groan, "Passports. We can't leave the country without them!"

"Sweet Merlin," Sirius growled, putting his head in his hands. "We're never going to make it for Harry's birthday."

A/N: (Angel Black) Well, there you have it. And only three months after it was promised!...sorry. Anyways, sorry about how choppy it was at the end. My mind was whirring around faster than I was typing. So hopefully Never Knowing will be so kind as to fill in whatever holes I made this chapter with her next. So, go on and yell at her to get a move on!!

(Never Knowing) Now it is my turn to thank Annah. Thank you ever so much for the new problem that needs fixing. I'm jumping with joy over the events that have taken place. Okay, so she finally got it out. That's good. Hopefully it won't take me that long to get out Chapter Four. But blame AP English if it does. Or perhaps my lack of Spell-Check. Or the fact that I feel like I have SARS.

Reviewer Thanks/ Answers:

KatFay: Our sincerest apologies for opening new wounds. We regret to have caused mental damage to you. And now, three months later, is the update.

Raven Dragonclaw: We're very pleased you think so! AB says: Oh that's so sweet, isn't it Callie? NK says: Thank you, even though Annah truly regrets not updating quickly. AB says: I'm sorry. I'm a horrible procrastinator.

Alura: AB says: At least someone finds us amusing. NK says: Add one to the 'People who Think We're Amusing' list! Total now equals 7. AB asks: Who are the other six? NK replies: Erm...

Luna: NK says: High five! We got intrigue! AB says: At least we're not inspiring. That would be creepy, eh? NK says: True dat. AB says: Fo shizzle.

Mysticaldreams: There was quite a discussion between the two of us on how to reply to this. An argument ensued, in which we fought over who the original creator of the premise for this story. Let it be said that we have come to the conclusion that we are in fact the same person, and have both become frightened by the implications. It's really weird. So we decided to move on.

Book Worm: You are hereby sent to Handy Land.

KatFay: You again! We can absolutely guarantee that Vivi is neither Voldemort's or Tom Riddle's daughter. Wizards' Oath included.

Black-Moodring: Well, here's your update. And we're still disturbed about sharing the same mind.

Andyquack: If tomorrow never comes I would want just one thing I would tell it to the stars and the sun I would write it for the world to see And it's Youuuuuuuuuuuuu The light changes when you're in the room Oh it's Youuuuuuuuuuu Oh it's You.

When nobody understands You come and take the chance, Andy You get me You look into my wild mind Never knowing what you'll find Still you want me all the time, yea you do Cause youuuuuu get me

It's not the pale moon That excites me That thrills And delights me Oh no, it's just the nearness of Monkey!

Tuesday Morning In the dark I was finding out Who you are Who you aaaaaare

You're our Prince Charming!


	4. Wait it Out

Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet  
  
By Knowing Angels  
  
Summary: Viviana and Halia thought they would have an uneventful summer mourning the death of Sirius Black. Until he came out of the closet...literally. Romance and mystery abound as Viviana and Halia travel to Britain and into the wizarding world. HP/OC. NOT SLASH!  
  
Chapter Four: Wait it Out  
  
The silence in the little turquoise car was finally broken. "I can't believe I agreed to this. I think I'm going to be sick," muttered Viviana from the driver's seat.  
  
"Turn left," Derrick instructed, ignoring Viviana's complaint.  
  
"Honestly Derrick, how can you be so calm? We're about to commit a federal crime. Did you hear me? Federal crime!" she shouted.  
  
"Stop light," Derrick answered nonchalantly. Viviana whipped her head forward, with just enough time to slam on the brakes, and throw everyone several inches toward the front end of the car. "Besides, it's not like we've never committed a crime before," he added.  
  
"Fe-De-Ral Crime!" Viviana said. "The closest we've come to that was last March."  
  
"Vivi, please stop shouting," Halia said quietly from behind her. "I mean, if Derrick here thinks he can pull this off, then we can just get on the plane and we'll be back here in no time, and it will all be fine."  
  
"It will not be fine! They will find us, and they will prosecute us, and we will spend the rest of our lives in jail!" Viviana shouted.  
  
"That would be the place," Derrick said, pointing out his window.  
  
Swerving into the parking lot, Viviana finally gave a small "Fine," and threw her parking brake on. "But if you're wrong about this, if anything at all goes wrong, I swear I am going to make you pay."  
  
"Vivi, it will all be fine. We'll go in, talk to my friend, and we'll get on the plane in a few hours. Now stay calm. You're in charge of Sirius detail," Derrick said.  
  
"Why does he have to be so hot?" Viviana whispered to Halia as she slammed the car door.  
  
Halia shrugged. "There are some things that were just meant to be," she replied.  
  
"What exactly is the plan?" Sirius asked, walking up alongside the threesome.  
  
"Well, Derrick goes in, talks to his friend, and she gets us passports," Halia said.  
  
"What? No daring escape plans? No wild chases? Troublemaking has really gone downhill," he said with a shake of his head.  
  
"We could set up a guard," Viviana thought aloud. "And have secret signals to alert the others that someone's coming."  
  
"We haven't done that since middle school. Don't be silly. This will all be done in an hour," Derrick said, and entered the large white building.  
  
The automatic doors let a burst of air-conditioned air out of the structure that loomed in front of the four. Once inside, the aisles were lined with everything from nail polish remover to cold remedies. The signs pointing the way to the pharmacy and the large blue mortar and pestle made it clear that they were standing in a generic Walgreens.  
  
"Iris!" Derrick shouted as he approached the yellow photography booth. "It's been a long time! How have you been? You look great."  
  
"What do you want?" she asked exasperatedly, laying down her copy of People magazine.  
  
"Well, my friends and I have a slight problem..."  
  
"Surprise."  
  
"You see, we left our passports at home, and our plane leaves today, and we were wondering-"  
  
"-If I could make you new ones," she said, cutting Derrick off.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"I just need some information: your names, birthdays, social security numbers," she said, pulling down a grey screen to take pictures in front of.  
  
"See, there's a little bit of a problem with that..." He trailed off.  
  
"You're not asking me to-" Iris began.  
  
"Just this once?" Derrick replied.  
  
"Derrick, no, I will not be involved in your schemes again!" she whispered pointedly.  
  
"Iris, do this for me, and I will never ask another thing from you again," Derrick said, leaning over the counter, and fixing his puppy-dog eyes on her. "Please?"  
  
"As much as I know that's not true," Iris said, caving under his gaze, "I'll do it. But you can't tell anyone about this. If I get in trouble, so help me I will hunt you down."  
  
"No one will ever have to know," Derrick replied. "Now, where are these forms to fill out?" He rubbed his hands together menacingly.  
  
Viviana stared at the form in front of her. "Halia, could you hand me the tickets?" She reached out her hand for the envelope that came flying at her. "Ow. I said hand, not attack me with!"  
  
"Sorry," Halia said, turning back to her own form.  
  
"You and I both know that is completely untrue."  
  
"So?"  
  
Viviana shook her head and returned to filling out her application while helping Sirius fill out his. She flipped through the tickets, trying to find the name she had registered Sirius under. "If anyone asks, your name is Michael Nelson. It shouldn't be a big deal, but your form and ticket and stuff should match."  
  
"Sure, whatever it takes to get me on the airplane," Sirius replied quietly, an edge hanging in his voice.  
  
"Listen, I'm just trying to help, I mean, you're the one who just stepped out of my closet a few days ago," Viviana said.  
  
"Well, perhaps if you didn't treat me as if I either wasn't there or was a very small child, everything would go a lot smoother."  
  
"It's not as if you've been the most courteous guest, you know. 'Just to get me to Harry, I'll do anything,'" she mimicked. "We get it, okay? We're just trying to help you! Do you really want us to just leave you out in the middle of the airport?" Viviana was about to forget to whisper.  
  
"Perhaps I know more about Muggles than you believe I do. Perhaps I would be perfectly fine on my own-"  
  
"Alright, you want that? Fine!" she shouted. The store stopped to stare. This amounted to three people turning around from a nail polish display, and a couple peering around the toothpaste aisle.  
  
"Vivi? Sirius?" Halia said quietly. "Look, I know this isn't exactly a normal day, and we're all tired, but could we try to not shout in public places? We're all in this together now, Sirius, so it's a little hard for us to just leave you here." She turned to Viviana. "Please, stop being so defensive. We've all had a long day. Just... We'll get this done, and everything will be all right again. Just wait it out."  
  
"Guys, we're getting our pictures taken," Derrick said, leading the way to a grey screen, sitting a few feet from a camera.  
  
As she stood up, Vivana turned to glare at Halia. "Vivi, I know you're angry, but you realize that The Glare works on almost everyone except me. I mean, I'm immune, I have antibodies against it, however you want to say it," Halia said.  
  
Viviana sighed and rolled her eyes. "'Lia."  
  
"Pictures?" Halia asked.  
  
"Fine, I guess," Viviana replied, and soon they were gathered around Iris, taking their passports.  
  
Twelve hours, one flight between North Carolina and Massachusetts, one security check and four Au Bon Pain toffee cookies later, the group of four was seated comfortably in a large plane flying somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Halia was seated on the end, listening to a CD in her CD player, with Derrick seated on the other end. Sirius was reading a magazine that the group had bought at the airport, and Viviana had taken a break from finding hidden images in the in-flight magazine to doze in the two a.m. dimmed atmosphere.  
  
In her dream, she was running through her high school, trying to escape from Darth Maul, who bore a strange resemblance to her academic advisor. She had locked herself in a Spanish classroom while Obi-Wan fought outside, when her dream faded out, to be replaced by another dream.  
  
The surroundings were hazy, as if a thick fog had engulfed her. It appeared as if the walls were stone, or perhaps they were just painted grey. They felt cold, though. The entire room felt cold. Then she saw a figure, somewhere in the distance, approaching her.  
  
"You're not supposed to be here," the boy said.  
  
Viviana looked around, slightly confused, but without the slightest hesitation, she replied, "I think I am."  
  
Suddenly, there was a blinding blue light, and the window across the room shattered.  
  
As a black-haired, green-eyed wizard awoke to sunlight in his bedroom, hundreds of miles away, Viviana awoke to the small crash of the beverage cart down the aisle.  
  
"Vivi? What's wrong?" Halia asked the redhead who had shot up from her seat in the previous moment.  
  
"Did it occur to you, that we're on our way to London, with a guy we met about three days ago, who has absolutely no proof for his identity, and claims to be a fictional character? Pinch me; I think I'm dreaming. Ow!" Vivian said, as Halia pinched her arm. "I didn't mean actually pinch me!"  
  
"Well, you aren't dreaming," Halia replied. "And I thought we went over this."  
  
"Oh sure, for a minute. But did it occur to you that we are going to London?" Viviana whispered. "London. It's not like we took a fictional character down to the grocery store. No, we had to get one that wanted to go to London. We hopped on a plane with a crazed lunatic who will kill us all in a small apartment that we'll be taken to as we step off the plane. I for one, do not want to be killed," she said very quickly.  
  
"But he looks like who he says he is, and does that look like a crazed lunatic murderer?" Halia asked, looking pointedly at Sirius, who was looking appalled at a magazine article.  
  
"Do you want me to answer that?"  
  
"I mean, what evidence do we have that says that he's not who he says he is?"  
  
"The fact that he claims to be a fictional character, and that who he says he is does not in fact exist, and was made up by a British writer?" Viviana said.  
  
"Why can't it be real?" Halia asked. "Why not?"  
  
"Because fictional characters are just that- fictional! If they were real, they wouldn't be fictional. They would just be people."  
  
"Viviana..." Halia said.  
  
"And besides that, why is it that he didn't even know about the books? They're quite famous, and they're about him. Sirius was incredibly surprised when he saw them, and how could the wizarding world not know they exist? Explain that one."  
  
"It's probably some spell she put on them," Sirius said from behind her shoulder. "So that only Muggles can appreciate them."  
  
Viviana looked embarrassed, having just voiced her doubts of the man's identity. "Well, I am sitting all of two feet away from you, and I can hear your whole conversation.  
  
"Earlier today, I found something that might interest you. It might also prove my identity." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket, to pull out a small, foil-looking card. Upon closer examination by Viviana and Halia, the card had a plain purple side. Viviana turned it over, and the other side had a picture of an old man, along with a paragraph and the caption 'Wilfred Alphick.'  
  
Vivian looked up at Sirius, to ask what it was supposed to be. "Just look," Sirius replied.  
  
Viviana turned back to look at the card, which Halia was already agape at. The man in the photo, after turning to wave to the two girls, had walked briskly out of the picture, and there was only a blue background where the man's picture used to be.  
  
"Either I'm really, really tired, or that's a-" Halia began.  
  
"Both. I was planning to give it to Harry if he didn't have it, but I suppose you understand how that became difficult. You can have it, if you want."  
  
Viviana flipped it over in her hand a few times, and stuck it in her purse. "Well, I suppose- I suppose I owe you an apology. What I mean to say is, I believe you now. I'm sorry I didn't."  
  
"I always believed you," Halia said, drawing out the 'always.' She smirked at Viviana.  
  
Viviana glared. "I can't believe you," she whispered. Halia sighed mock-exasperatedly.  
  
They stepped off of the plane several hours later, into the bustle of another large, busy airport. There was very little difference between that airport and the previous airport that they had been in, except that most people in their current airport were speaking in a British accent.  
  
"Well, let's find our luggage, I guess," Halia said.  
  
"Any idea where that would be?" Viviana asked.  
  
"Well, the sign does say 'Luggage,' with an arrow pointing down the escalator," Derrick said, and smiling, headed downstairs.  
  
"You know, he really grates on my nerves," Viviana said.  
  
"Well, that's just Derrick," Halia replied.  
  
The sun was barely visible overhead in the hazy late morning weather. Cars sped past the four travelers as they stepped out of the shaded airport. There were bus stops in one direction, and taxi pick-up and drop- off in the other.  
  
"So, where are we going, and how do we get there?" Viviana asked, turning to Sirius.  
  
"Well, I suppose we're going to my house. I assume they're all still using it, of course. You'll know all about that, though. Stupid books," he replied.  
  
"It's taxi, then?" Halia asked.  
  
"Best plan I've heard all day," Derrick replied.  
  
"Um, Sirius, this might not be the best time to ask, but..." Viviana began.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, are you still wanted for murder? I mean, well, we don't want the police chasing us," Viviana said.  
  
"I don't honestly know," Sirius replied as Derrick hailed a taxi. "It wasn't something that I've thought about."  
  
The four travelers packed their myriad suitcases into the car, and after slight confusion over the location of the shotgun seat, Derrick climbed into the front, and Viviana, Halia, and Sirius climbed into the rear.  
  
"Grimmauld Place, Tufnell Park," Sirius said to the driver.  
  
A/N:  
  
NK: Finally! Now don't get me wrong, I wanted to get this chapter out for a long time. I kept trying to write it, and I just couldn't come up with an appropriate way to get them out of America. I tried about three drafts of this chapter before I finally settled on this one. I hope you like it, because you probably don't realize how difficult this chapter was for me. Thanks to HP-Lexicon for the location of Number Twelve. Au Bon Pain is pronounced 'aww bawn pan,' and is a really good soup/bread store, similar to Panera. The only ones I've been to were in a mall in Boston, and in the food court of Logan Airport.  
  
AB: Well, it's up to me now. Hopefully I won't take so long as I usually do. So what to expect in next chapter? Eh...that's a pretty good question, isn't it?  
  
Reviewer Thanks/Answers:  
  
Andy: AB says: Joel's read this? And he still speaks to us? That's surprising. It really is. NK: I would have expected him to run in sheer terror. AB: Glad you liked shirtless Derrick. I'm rather partial to him myself. Maybe we can bring him back before we ship him off... NK: Derrick won't be gone forever. AB: No fears. NK: What would we do without him? AB: Be devoid of hotness?  
  
UntitledN'stayinthatway: NK: Wow. AB: Eh.... if this is your elixer of life... I fear we may have killed you. Levels an accusatory glare at Never Knowing. NK: Well sorry. Blame AP English. AB: You and I both know that that's completely untrue. NK: Not completely. Just partially. AB: You're not sorry at all. NK: Oh, that part. I thought you meant AP English. AB: Well, AP English was the devil in disguise. NK: Does the devil often disguise himself as high school courses, I wonder...

pyroprincess4rmeverwood: AB: grin "Please update ASAP" again turns to look at Never Knowing. NK: Ignores and attempts to decipher meaning of this screen name. AB: Pyro princess from Everwood. NK: ... Oh. I feel rather silly now. AB: grin. I shall evermore relish this moment. For once I wasn't the one not to know! NK: sulks.

Smiley: NK: Now, I'm perfectly open to others' opinions on my writing, but usually it amounts to actual points of interest, and not just two words. Perhaps if you had actual reasons for this assessment, we would be more likely to listen. AB: Shakes head. My poor friend, you ignore finer details. But to your credit, we haven't presented Viviana's and Halia's faults to their full extent-but I assure you, they're there. Unless of course you're referring to Derrick... In which case, I dont' know what to say. NK: Derrick... Well, yea... Nothing we can do about him. AB: I mean, he's hott. If someone's good at drawing and would like to tackle the shirtless Derrick and email it to us...grin.


	5. Secrets and Revelations

Sirius Black Comes out of the Closet

By Knowing Angels  
  
Summary: Two teenage Muggles, distraught over the death of a Harry Potter character, are prepared for an average summer, until Sirius Black steps out of the Linen Closet. HP/OC, DM/OC with a little bit of R/Hr (eventually...) 

Chapter Five: Secrets and Revelations

"So, this is Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Halia breathed, somewhat awed. She was gazing in amazement at a space in between No. 11 and No. 13.

"'Lia," Derrick said softly in her ear, "there's nothing there."

"That's exactly the point," Viviana snapped at Derrick.

"Right, I'll just shut up and let you two have your moment, then," Derrick replied.

"Thank you," the girls chorused.

"Well," Viviana drawled after a moment, "What now, Sirius?"

Sirius cleared his throat. He hadn't exactly gotten to that point in the plan, yet. He had been so preoccupied on arriving in time for Harry's seventeenth birthday that he had forgotten that he couldn't very well waltz into the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix after being dead for over a year.

Inside No. 12, a bushy haired girl and a tall, lanky boy sat by the window, talking.

"Rotten luck that we couldn't get Harry for his birthday," Ron sighed.

"Yes, I do feel badly for him," Hermione replied sadly. "But Dumbledore's main concern was to make sure he's safe." She turned and gazed out the window pensively. And had to look twice.

"Ron," Hermione breathed in disbelief, quickly rising from her seat. "Ron, tell me I'm not hallucinating!"

"What are you talking about, woman?" asked a bemused Ron.

Hermione simply pointed out the window to the scene on the front lawn. There were three strangers gazing straight into the house; except they appeared to be Muggles, so they couldn't possibly see in. That wasn't the part that gave the two magical teenagers a shock, however. Along with the three teenagers was Sirius Black.

"Bloody hell," Ron murmured. "Wait here. I'll get Lupin and Moody!"

"Professor Lupin," Hermione corrected half-heartedly as Ron dashed away, yelling for their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers.

"Well?" Viviana snapped impatiently. "We've gotten this far, Sirius. What now?"

"It isn't quite that simple," Sirius responded in an equally irritated manner. "I can't exactly just knock on the front door. After all, as far as they know, I'm dead."

"Oh, yeah," Viviana replied. It wouldn't do them much good if the Order decided to 'attack first, ask questions later.'

"We can't just wait out here all day, though," Halia protested. "We have to do something."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't do anyth-" Sirius began, only to be cut off by a gruff command. "Nobody move. I'm not sure what type of Dark Wizardry is going on here, but I'll be damned if I don't figure it out," said a man with a gnarled face. One of his eyes was small, beady and black but the other was large, blue and spinning dizzily.

"Alastor, wait!" A man with graying brown hair cried, dashing out of a door which was hanging open in the alley between No. 11 and No. 13. "Don't hex them!"

The older man lowered the wand in his hand slightly but still kept it trained on the four, specifically Sirius. "You'd better know what you're doing, Remus," Alastor warned.

"Omigosh," Halia said, eyes wide with fear, "Sirius, don't let them kill us..."

Derrick looked over at Halia with a raised eyebrow. "Overreact much, Halia?"

"Derrick!" Halia snapped, spinning to face him, "there are two strange men who rushed out of empty space with wands at the ready and you're telling me I'm overreacting? We're all going to die, don't you see that?"

"Halia," Viviana hissed, rolling her eyes. "Chill out."

Halia pouted, but obligingly shut up.

"Now," Sirius replied, leveling a glare at the brunette, "you be quiet and let me do the talking. That goes for all three of you." He turned to face the men, who the three Muggles could only assume were Moody and Lupin, and held his hands out, showing his empty palms. "I'm unarmed. Remus, it's me..."

The man in tattered robes gave a short, unbelieving laugh and advanced slowly. He gave Sirius a piercing look. "It's you, is it? I'd gathered as much. But who, exactly, are you?"

Sirius made an annoyed noise, somewhat akin to a growl. "I'm Sirius of course. Or had you forgotten me?" He snapped.

"You," Lupin replied in an even, controlled voice, "are not Sirius Black. He died over a year ago. I saw him with my own eyes."

"I tell you, I'm he!" Sirius cried.

"And I say you lie!" Lupin shot back.

"We believe you, Sirius," Halia assured him with sincerity.

"At least someone does," Sirius barked. As an afterthought he added, "I told you to stay out of this."

"Who said we believed him?" Viviana was already ignoring Sirius' instructions. "We're only open-minded."

"Vivi," Halia replied, "two more fictional characters just jumped out of thin air. How much more proof do you need?"

"QUIET!" Moody roared over the din. Blinking, the five turned to look at the ex-Auror. "Now, Remus," Moody began in a much quieter voice, "you and Sirius Black were close friends. Friends also share secrets...."

"I know that, Alastor," Lupin replied, running his hands through his hair. He still looked at Sirius suspiciously.

"There must be something that only Sirius and you know about. There has to be something that you two never told anyone else about. A story, a place, a joke. Is there anything?"

"I could tell them about what you said when James and Lily named me godfather of Harry," Sirius jumped in. Something about his tone made the girls and Derrick look at him with curiosity. It was almost as if he were _goading_ Lupin on.

Looking back at Lupin, they saw that he had paled considerably. As unwilling as he was to relive that particular moment, he still needed to know if the man in front of him truly was Sirius Black. "Yes? What would that be?"

"You were appalled, Remus," Sirius began, a small smile flitting to his lips. "You couldn't believe that you, the responsible one, had lost the position to me, the 'juvenile delinquent' is the correct term, I believe. You told Lily and James that they were fools for appointing me to such a task. Your exact words, if I recall correctly, were that they 'would be better off appointing a flobberworm.'"

Lupin stood before them, mouth hanging open. "That's him, Alastor. The only people who knew I said that were Lily and James," Remus said, his voice trembling. He took a step forward, looking at his old friend. "Sirius? But how? I watched you die; I held Harry back when he tried to go after you."

Sirius sighed, looking at Viviana. "It's a long story..."

"Well, come inside and tell it, Sirius," Lupin suggested, turning and walking toward the door.

Sirius stalked after him. When Viviana, Halia, and Derrick trailed after him, however, Moody stepped before them. "I don't think so."

Sirius paused and glanced over his shoulder, "I wouldn't suggest leaving them out here alone, Alastor. Those three get into trouble faster than I thought humanly possible. I've only known them three days and they've already broken several laws. They'd give James and me a run for our money. I'd take them in; keep your eye on them."

"Hey!" Viviana protested.

"We take offense to that!" Halia scowled. Viviana nodded her agreement.

"Can you disagree with it, though?" Sirius asked with a bark-like laugh.

"Well, no..." Viviana admitted. "But it's always Derrick's fault!"

"Exactly," Sirius agreed. "And the two of you always go along with Derrick." Turning to Moody he finished, "Like I said, keep an eye on them. It'll be less of a headache later."

Moody turned a mistrustful eye on Halia, Viviana and Derrick. His magic eye swiveled, staring in turn at each of them. There were no circumstances under which he could allow three unknown muggles into the Order's headquarters. Of course, there were no circumstances under which he would expect Sirius to be alive.

Weighing his thoughts carefully, Moody finally pronounced, "I can't."

"Honestly, Alastor, these three, while somewhat reckless, are perfectly trustworthy," Sirius said. Halia gave a small smirk. "They're the sole reason I was able to get to England." At this statement, Remus raised his eyebrows, as if to ask, "Why weren't you in England in the first place?"

"Sirius, while I have my doubts about their reliability, I do not have the ability to let them into Headquarters, as you should remember," Moody replied.

Sirius' face went from frustration to panic within seconds, as if he had seen the Hogwarts Express seconds from running him over. "Get Dumbledore," he said, after realizing that his purpose at that moment was to protect Harry, and not to squabble over whether three Muggles were trustworthy.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked.

"Just get Dumbledore," Sirius replied. "This is important."

"Come with me," Moody said, and began to walk to the house. Halting before he got close, he turned to Remus. "Watch them," he said, jerking his head at the three Muggles, who were still standing on the sidewalk. "I still have a bad feeling about them."

Inside the house, another red-head had walked down the stairs to find Ron and Hermione staring nervously out the window. They had turned from their game of chess (which Hermione was losing) to observe the events unfolding on the front lawn.

"What happened? Somebody try to break in?" she asked, quietly closing the door behind her.

"Shh!" Hermione hissed, pointing out the window. "We're trying to watch, Ginny!"

"And your vision is disrupted by using your sense of hearing," Ginny replied, taking a place on the couch to look out the front window. "Oh my-" she gasped. "Is that..."

"Don't know," Ron said.

"They're coming in!" said Hermione.

Simultaneously, the young witches and wizard jumped off the couch. Ginny opened the door slightly, while the other two peered around the door and into the hallway. Ginny knelt on the floor, and slid toward the door, attempting to peek through, but all available space having been taken by her brother and Hermione.

"Let me see," she whispered, pushing their feet away from the door.

"Ginny, shh," Hermione whispered.

The door opened. Alastor Moody walked through the door, followed by the man who looked like Sirius. "Wait down here," Moody said. "I'll go send an owl to Dumbledore." He paused at the bottom of the stairs, his eye swiveling, and said, "And you three are welcome to say hello."

Hermione jerked open the door. "Ow!" Ginny shrieked, and rubbed her head where the door had hit her.

"What's all the commotion?" a woman asked, throwing open the door at the end of the hallway. "I half expected-" she froze mid-sentence, staring at the once-familiar figure ahead of her.

Hermione quickly turned from Mrs. Weasley to the man standing near the doorway to number 12. "Is it really you, Sirius?" she posed tentatively, staring into the face of a man she believed was dead.

"You think Moody would have let me in if it wasn't?" he grinned.

"It _is_ you!" Ginny shouted, and grasped Sirius in a huge hug.

Sirius braced himself for the shriek of his mother, whose portrait hung behind the curtain near the door. His steeled face waited for a second, then another second. He opened one eye. He opened the other eye. "Where's dear old mom?"

Outside, Remus looked at the three muggles in turn. They didn't seem particularly evil; however, it was a time when appearances could be deceiving. Then again, one of his best friends had just returned from the dead. The day was quickly becoming more and more confusing.

"You're Remus Lupin, right?" one girl asked. Remus nodded. "I'm Viviana." He shook her hand.

"I'm Halia," Halia said and extended her own hand.

"Derrick."

"How did you know my name?" Remus asked, looking again at Viviana.

Viviana bit her bottom lip. She debated how to phrase her answer, while recalling a conversation with Sirius in the taxi. He had asked them to not reveal the books, wanting to wait until he could talk with Dumbledore. "We don't want anyone to be unnecessarily upset," he had said.

"Sirius told us about you," Halia interrupted. "I mean, it _was_ a long flight." She smiled.

"You slept most of it," Derrick said, turning away from the empty area into which Sirius and Moody had just disappeared.

Remus chuckled. "Where did you fly from?" he asked.

"South Carolina- America," Viviana sighed.

"Really? How did he get that far from here?" Remus asked, his interest suddenly drawn in.

"Beats me," Halia replied. Just then her stomach growled. Loudly. "I'm starving," she said.

"I think we guessed that," Derrick replied.

Halia glared. "We haven't eaten anything since dinner last night, on the flight, and that wasn't even edible."

"I'm sure we can find you something to eat," Remus said, "once Dumbledore gets here." He paused. "Why wasn't dinner edible?"

"You've obviously never been on an airplane," Viviana stated.

Miles and miles away, Harry Potter lay on his bed, contemplating his birthday. _Today_, he though, _I am officially a wizard. What would the Dursleys say if I told them I can do wizardry now, without getting in trouble?_ It didn't really matter, he supposed, since the Order had told the Dursleys never to harm Harry. The Dursleys listened well to wizards' threats.

Harry sighed, staring up at the ceiling. It would still be several days until he would see his friends and the rest of the Order. They never told him exactly when they would show up, just in case the message was intercepted by the wrong person, but it sounded as if it would be within the next two weeks. He could wait that long, he though. Then he would only have two weeks until his final year at Hogwarts.

It was almost unbelievable that in one year he would not return to Hogwarts, nor to Privet Drive. As far away as the end of his final year seemed, the sand was sinking quickly through the hourglass until his education was over. This movement of time only brought him closer to one thing: his showdown with Voldemort.

_Knowing your future isn't as wonderful as Trelawney seems to believe_, he though. It was agony to know that time was bringing him closer and closer to Voldemort's death – or his own. He couldn't escape it, and he couldn't prevent it. It was destiny. His destiny – to fight Voldemort.

And win? He didn't know.

Soon, at least, he would see his friends again, and return to the one place he could call home – Hogwarts. There he would have some freedom; he would be able to leave his house without Mrs. Figg following him around, and he would be able to talk to his friends without carefully choosing his words in order to protect the Order. And even though he would again be living in a frightened world, so different from the one he had found six years ago, he would be happier than he could ever be in the Muggle world.

A knock came at his door, and his aunt's shrill voice shouted, "Lunch! And hurry up, or it'll get cold."

Harry smiled grimly. At least here, things hadn't changed.

Up a moving spiral staircase, and behind a pair of large, wooden doors, Albus Dumbledore surveyed the damage left on his office the previous day. He flicked his wand, moving the varied silver instruments from the floor to their respective places on his bookshelf.

He sighed, thinking of the circumstances that led to his office being in the state it was. The woman with whom he had been talking had dashed from the room, knocking over a chair that tumbled into his bookshelf.

"Albus, I have to leave," she had shouted as she rushed down the stairs. "She left- she's gone."

"It's too late," a portrait said, shaking Dumbledore from his reverie, "isn't it?"

"I fear it may be," Dumbledore replied. "Though I always suspected this would happen. The cat cannot stay in the proverbial bag forever. After all-"

He was cut off by a head appearing in his fireplace. "Hello Alastor," Dumbledore said brightly. Grabbing a danish off of a plate, he offered it to Moody. "Here, have a pastry. How are things at headquarters?"

The face in the fire frowned. "No thank you, Albus. Not now," Moody replied. "We have a situation here, sir."

"Really?" Dumbledore asked absently. "What is it?"

"Albus, it's Sirius. He's... alive."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. With a sigh, verified that Moody was Moody. Surprisingly calmly, he stepped out of the office, and toward Minerva McGonnagal's office.

One hour later, he strode out the front door of number twelve, having spoken to Moody and Sirius about the Muggles. First, of course, Sirius had warned Dumbledore of the danger that loomed near Harry, and privately, the matter of the books.

"Omigod," Halia whispered. "Vivi, is that..."

"It is..." Viviana replied. "Lia... I think I'm going to faint."

"Girls, it's a man wearing a cloak. Get over it," Derrick chided.

"It's not just any man," Halia replied, glaring at Derrick incredulously. "That's... Dumbledore."

"Hello, all, my name is Albus Dumbledore, as you may have guessed," Dumbledore said with a wink. "And you must be Halia."

Halia stared, her eyes wide and jaw slack. "And Viviana, do you trust Halia?"

"Yes," Viviana squeaked.

"And do you trust Derrick?"

"I shouldn't... but I guess I do," she said after a pause. "But I don't see why-"

"Then I see no reason why we should hesitate any longer," he interrupted her. Thus, he leaned over and whispered into the ears of each Muggle in turn.

As they walked toward the house that sprang out of nowhere in front of them, Viviana leaned over to Halia. "Lia," she said, "any moment I'm going to wake up from this crazy dream."

"Your dreams usually last for several days?" Halia asked. Viviana shook her head. "Then I suggest you stop referring to this as a dream."

Inside headquarters, Moody was throwing a fit. "You just let them in?" he shouted. "Without so much as proof that they are who they say they are? Wouldn't it just be convenient if they were Death Eaters disguised as children?"

"Are you three actually Death Eaters disguised as children?" Dumbledore asked them. Viviana and Halia shook their heads, while Derrick asked, "Death Eaters?"

"See?" Dumbledore said. "I have my reasons for trusting them, which I may inform you of later.

"Now, however, we need to assemble the Order. Information has come to my attention that Voldemort may be planning attack tonight. We need to remove Harry Potter from Privet Drive."

The next two hours passed in confusion, especially for the three Muggles. Wizards and witches were flooding into headquarters. Some of them Viviana and Halia recognized; however, many of them were new faces. All of them seemed very out of breath as they hurried into a room which Viviana, Halia, Derrick, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were not allowed to enter.

"Where are they all going?" Halia asked.

"They're probably deciding on the best way to redecorate the living room," Ginny replied.

Hermione hit Ginny's arm. "They're planning how to get Harry here safely. Though I suppose you might have figured that out." She looked at Halia sideways. "You do seem to know a lot about all of this. Being Muggles and all."

Viviana, standing out of view of Hermione, gave Halia a look that clearly said, "Uh oh," while Derrick's grin seemed to ask how she was going to get out of this one. "We talked a lot on the airplane," Halia said finally.

"An airplane? What's that?" Ron asked.

"I told you to take Muggle Studies. But did you listen?" Hermione muttered.

Before Ron could reply, however, Mrs. Weasley shouted through the kitchen door, "Lunch's ready!" Halia rushed into the kitchen first, not waiting for the other five.

In a small bedroom, in a small house in England, Harry Potter tugged his schoolbooks out from under his bed. Lunch had finished, he had cleaned the kitchen, and he had weeded the garden for the third time that summer. He shook his head as he thought of what was next on his agenda for the day. He was about to start homework early in the afternoon of his birthday.

While he contemplated the birthday cards on his dresser, wishing he could see his friends, a loud crash came from downstairs. Harry's head whipped around, his heart suddenly beating very fast. Though he wanted to believe that Dudley had simply dropped another television in rage, the past few years taught him to always be alert.

He tiptoed quietly down the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs. Crooking his head slightly around the corner, he spotted the source of the commotion. He let out a sigh. Uncle Vernon was shouting at someone. And although Harry couldn't tell who was on the receiving end of Uncle Vernon's fury, anyone that did not immediately kill the short man was not to be feared.

"Harry, are you coming?" a familiar voice called from downstairs. A head ducked under the overhang and became visible. Remus Lupin was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking worried and impatient.

"I hadn't thought you were coming today," Harry said. His mood had lightened considerably. "This is wicked, Professor!"

He paused, looking at the scene in the living room. His ex-professor was by far not the only person there. In fact, if Harry had to guess, he would say that more than half of the Order of the Phoenix was standing in the Dursley's living room.

"Why are so many people here?" he asked.

"Not now, boy," said a gruff voice behind him, as Mad-Eye Moody prodded him in the back. "We're in a hurry. You know the drill." Moody's eye swiveled wildly throughout the room, checking every corner for anything suspicious. He was not the only one who seemed to be anxious; every member of the team sent to Privet Drive was scanning the area: the closet, the kitchen, and the street outside.

Harry bounded up the stairs, and hastily threw his things into his suitcase. In went his clothes, cauldron, shoes and textbooks. Behind him, a small clunk sounded as his omnioculars fell off the corner dresser.

Harry whipped his head around. "Sorry, Harry," a female voice said, replacing the omnioculars.

"Tonks?" Harry asked, "Is that you?"

"Nice to see you, Harry," she said with a nod. Although her hair was fluorescent green and her eyes had turned a dark shade of purple, she was still recognizable as Nymphadora Tonks.

"Tonks, why is everyone here? And why are they all so edgy?" Harry asked quietly.

"I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to tell you," Tonks replied, biting her lower lip.

"I'll tell the boy," Moody's voice growled from Harry's bedroom door, "as soon as he's finished packing."

Harry slammed down the lid of his suitcase and grabbed Hedwig's cage from his bedside table. "Done," he said.

"Right, downstairs," Moody said, pushing Harry toward the landing.

"But you said you'd tell me what's going on," Harry responded.

"Information came to our attention that Voldemort plans on attacking you tonight," Moody said in a hushed voice, very unlike his usual roar.

"What do you mean? Who told you?" Harry asked.

"We need to get you out of here. Who told us isn't important," Moody responded, pulling several dirty socks out of his pocket.

"Let me tell him, Alastor," Remus Lupin said, approaching Harry. "He has a right to know. He'll find out soon anyway."

Harry asked breathlessly, "Find out what? What's going on?"

"Harry," Lupin said, then paused. "Harry this is hard to say, and even harder to explain." Again Lupin paused, taking a deep breath.

"Harry, Sirius is alive."

Breath caught in his throat, Harry tried to understand what was happening. "What... But that can't be... I saw him...

"Wait, how do I know you're not all Death Eaters, come to kidnap me?"

"Because," Remus replied, "I know what you said to me at the end of last year." He leaned over and whispered into Harry's ear.

"But... How?" Harry asked slowly, confusion written on his face. "How can he be alive?"

"Dumbledore can explain it all to you once we leave," Moody answered. "Now, the first group will take this portkey back, along with Harry's things, then I'll go in the second group with Harry. The third group will follow."

Harry stared at the scene that lay before him. Having never had a birthday party before, he had nothing to compare it to. Ron and Hermione were standing near a large table, with what appeared to be a cake and several brightly wrapped presents. Members of the Order were everywhere, some gathered in the living room, others trailing into the hallway. And Sirius was waiting in the middle of the room.

"Harry," he shouted, and pulled his godson into a tight hug. "How was sixth year?" Sirius grinned.

"Sirius, you're... alive," Harry said, astonished.

"Harry," a voice whispered in his ear, "before the festivities begin, I'd like to have a word." Harry peered over his shoulder, to find his headmaster's half-moon glasses staring at him. "In the kitchen, if you would. And Sirius," he added, "if you would join us."

Harry pulled out a seat from the large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. The clock on the wall told him it was almost five, however he felt it had been years since he had left Privet Drive.

"I suppose you are wondering how Sirius came to be here," Dumbledore said.

"I regret that I cannot tell you every detail about how he came back, for some mysteries are never fully understood. I can tell you that he did not die in the Department of Mysteries. No, he passed through the Veil alive. He entered what is known to the few living who know of it as the land of the dead. He eventually found the only exit from this land."

Harry stared across the table at Dumbledore. Then, he slowly turned his head, and looked, slack-jawed, at his godfather. "I don't... How?"

"As I said, I cannot give those details. However, I can tell you that Sirius came back because he had an urgent message for me." At this point he looked to Sirius. After a short pause, Sirius continued.

"Harry, while I was... there," Sirius began, "I learned things, things that only the dead know. I learned that Voldemort planned to attack you tonight.

"So I came back. To warn you." Sirius let out a long breath.

"You may be wondering," Dumbledore continued, "why I chose to bring you here tonight. Why did I choose to remove you from the safety of your aunt's home? Why did I not have you remain in the one place you can be protected?

"In truth, I had doubts about the safety there." Dumbledore sighed. "When Sirius came to me, and told me that Voldemort would attack you tonight, I must admit, I became worried. The land of the dead is generally known to be honest and beyond all else, reliable in their prophesies. The whispers from the curtain, if heard and understood, give us the best clues to the future we could ever hope for.

"Yes, I worried. I worried that Voldemort had found a way to remove the protections, and so I chose the only path I could. I brought you here."

Harry's head seemed to be suddenly weighed down with everything that had happened. He didn't know what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Where?"

"Pardon me?" Dumbledore asked.

"Where is the exit?" Harry clarified.

"South Carolina," Sirius stated. Across the table, Dumbledore sighed.

"Harry, I regret that I can't explain everything now. Trust me that I would, were it my place. For now, let's enjoy your birthday party. If you'll excuse me, I believe I saw some of Mrs. Weasley's delicious casserole in there." Dumbledore stood up and strode through the door and into the living room.

"Well, happy birthday, Harry," Sirius said, rising to return to the party.

Hermione rushed over to Harry as soon as he entered the room, and gave him a huge hug. "Harry, how was your summer? Did you get your O.W.L. results yet? I've been waiting ages for mine. I can't believe they haven't come yet."

"'Mione, Harry doesn't want to talk about school, it's his birthday!" Ron said.

"I suppose," Hermione said, "we can talk about something else. We'll get our results on the same day, I expect."

"And we'll all bow down to your superiority then," Harry said. "I can't believe how many people are here," he added.

"Hagrid was going to be here, but he's still at Hogwarts. Professor McGonnagal is here," Ginny said, walking up with a plate of food.

"No Professor Snape, though," Ron added with a smile.

"Oh, didn't you know, Ron?" Ginny replied. "He'll be jumping out of the cake soon, sequined leotard and all."

"Bad mental images, Gin," Harry groaned.

Down the hall, Viviana sat next to Halia on a bed they had been given for their stay at number 12. Derrick stood at the other side of the room, searching through dresser drawers.

"Come on Vivi, let's just go down," Halia said.

"Halia," Viviana replied exasperatedly, "I told you. I just feel strange going to the party. It's Harry's party, he shouldn't have to deal with random people he doesn't know."

"And he knows all of the people down there," Derrick said, throwing a random shirt back into the drawer. "Did you see how many people are at the party?"

"Derrick, you just want to go because you think Tonks is hot," Viviana replied. "I guess if you really want to, we can go, but let's just stop down and tell Sirius we're going to leave tomorrow."

"We're leaving tomorrow?" Halia practically shouted. "You don't want to stay?"

"Of course I want to stay! Halia, it's just that... Well, we don't belong here," Viviana replied. "We live in South Carolina. We're Muggles. This entire world is different from ours. We did what we set out to do: we got Sirius here."

"Well, let's at least go to the party, if we're going to leave so soon," Halia said. "Right Derrick?" She looked around. "Derrick?"

"Maybe he went downstairs," Viviana guessed.

"Maybe we should, too," Halia retorted.

"Fine," Viviana said. "Let's go."

"Who're they?" Harry asked several minutes later, indicating the two girls who had just entered the room. One girl was wearing a pair of jeans slightly worn at the knees, and a dark blue tee shirt, the same color as her eyes. Her auburn hair was tied back in a pony-tail. The other girl was, for lack of a better word, cute. She had a younger, more girlish style than her friend, and the contrast was accentuated by their difference in height. While Halia, in her pink shirt and knee-length grey skirt, was only a few inches below five feet tall, Viviana was over five and a half.

"Viviana's the red-head, and the brunette is Halia," Ginny replied simply. "They're the ones who brought Sirius here," she added while refilling her plate.

Harry didn't quite know why, but he suddenly wanted to go over and thank them. So he weaved his way through the many witches and wizards, and spotted the two girls staring at a portrait in the corner.

"I mean, I knew it would move, but it still surprised me," the girl with golden-brown hair said.

"Excuse me?" Harry said, trying not to interrupt.

The two girls turned around. And immediately stopped. Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, the star of a book series, a fictional book series at that, was standing in front of them. And Viviana could think of nothing to say.

"Erm," Harry started. "Hi. I'm Harry Potter." He stuck out his hand.

Viviana stared at it. Harry Potter was standing in front of her. _He really does have the scar,_ she thought. Halia, watching the look of shock on her friend's face, shook Harry's hand and introduced herself. "Halia Grey," she said, then nudged Viviana.

"Viviana Séance," she finally said.

Harry blinked, slightly confused over the girl's reaction. "I just wanted to thank you for bringing my godfather back," he said.

"Oh, you're welcome," Viviana replied. "But all we did was help him get back."

"Well thank you anyway," Harry said. He paused. "So, which school do you go to?"

"We're American. And Muggles," Halia said, and giggled slightly.

_Muggles? This day gets stranger by the minute,_ Harry thought. So Muggles had found his godfather. Somehow it didn't quite make sense.

On the other side of the room, Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody were talking in hushed tones. "And you still trust her?" Moody whispered. "Despite this?"

"Alastor, I have no reason not to," Dumbledore replied. "Remember, no one is to know about this." He smiled as another figure walked up.

"Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said. "A good party, don't you think?"

Dumbledore nodded to Moody, who wandered over to Mr. Weasley and Mundugus Fletcher. "It wouldn't have happened without you," Dumbledore replied.

"So long as Harry is alive, I'll be happy," Sirius said. "I had to be back to warn him."

"It's a good thing that you were able to warn us about Voldemort's plan to attack Harry," Dumbledore said, and looked at Harry, who was currently laughing wiith Viviana. As they watched, Vivivana lightly touched Harry's arm, causing both teenagers to blush and glace away. "He should get one day to be happy."

"Okay, so then I call Halia to make sure that I'm in the right place, obviously," Viviana said. "It turns out she wrote the wrong number on the directions, and I was supposed to find apartment 17, not 15."

"Vivi!" Halia shouted from the food table. "What on earth are you telling them about me?"

"Only the truth, Lia!" Viviana replied. "I'll be right back, okay? Which way to the bathroom?" She waited until Hermione pointer her down the right hallway, and made her way toward the door.

"Hermione, what's did she mean, the man was wearing a thong?" Ron asked, confused over Viviana's story. "What's a thong?" Hermione nearly chocked on her pumpkin juice and Ginny dissolved into giggles.

"What did I say?" Ron asked.

Viviana wandered through the dim hallways of number 12, Grimmauld Place. She had passed the elf heads on the walls, but hadn't found the second doorway on the left. She peered around the corner. Maybe it was in down the hallway on her left.

She paused as she reached the door at the end of the hall. Inside, she could hear people shouting. A man's voice floated through the slightly open door. It sounded like Dumbledore.

"She has a right to know," the man's voice sounded stern. "She will find out eventually."

"Not if I have any say," a new voice replied. The second voice was female, and sounded familiar. As Viviana listened, she thought she recognized the voice.

She opened the door slowly, and her suspicions were confirmed. "Mom?" Viviana asked, baffled. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Viviana," her mother said, "Calm down."

"No, this can't be happening," Viviana muttered. Different explanations ran through her head, very quickly. Each scenario, though, led to only one thing.

"Viviana, I know this is hard to believe," Dumbledore said in a soothing voice. "I would like to introduce you to an old student of mine."

"No. No, no, no," Viviana said. "This is some sick joke. My mom can't be a witch. She can't. I can't..." She was breathing hard, and her head was beginning to spin.

"You are," Dumbledore replied, "by all standards, a witch."

"No!" Viviana practically shouted. "This isn't real. This can't be real."

"It is," Mrs. Séance said quietly. "It's true."

"No-" Viviana said. The sheet of glass covering the clock shattered. Viviana stared at it for a moment. "No," she said slowly, staring at the glass. "Oh no. This is not happening."

"Viviana, calm down, honey," Mrs. Séance said.

"No," Viviana replied. "No, how am I supposed to calm down? I find out I'm... something else... that you've been lying to me for my entire life. And I'm supposed to calm down?"

"Vivi," Mrs. Séance said.

"No," Viviana replied, and ran from the room. A house elf's head flew from the wall as she found her way back to the living room, and grabbed Halia's arm. "Come on Halia." A glass exploded in Mr. Weasley's hand.

"Vivi, what's wrong?" Halia asked. A lamp tipped over.

"Just come on." A plate flew off of the food table, scattering cookies across the floor. "We're leaving."

Viviana rushed up to find her suitcase, and threw it out of the window, thankful that her window was not high from the ground. "Vivi, what's happening?" Derrick asked, catching up to the two. A portrait flew off of the wall.

"We're leaving," Viviana replied, and dropped out of the window. "We're getting out of here."

Halia looked out of the window, and then over her shoulder at Derrick. She shrugged. Grabbing her own suitcase, she reluctantly slid out of the window after the red-head.

Derrick looked confused for the slightest of moments. The roles were suddenly reversed, and he was no longer the one in control. He didn't like it, but he crawled through the window anyway.

At the party, most talking had stopped, as everyone surveyed the damage left by a witch's emotions. "What was that about?" Harry asked no one in particular.

A/N:

Angel Black: I think an appropriate title would be The Chapter Delivered by Lucifer Himself. If you didnt notice the abrupt change in writing style, damn we're good. Anyways, about four pages into this chapter I got the worst case of writers block since...well, I cant think of an analogy right now, but it was bad. So I wrote my four pages and left our darling Never Knowing to write the last...oh...twenty. So, yes I know its been forever since weve updated. But good things come to those who wait, no? So enjoy!

Never Knowing: Right, well, the Chapter from Hell is over and done. But the heartache lives on inside. Mostly that's heartburn, though, and the mental damage done by writing this chapter. Special bonus points to anyone who can pinpoint exactly where I started writing this chapter. I thought as an extra treat for everyone, I can list where I worked on and edited this chapter: my bed at my mom's house, in the sunroom at my mom's house, my bed at my dad's house, the family room at my dad's house, in a hammock at AB's house, watching hot college guys paint next-door, in AB's bedroom, in a chiropractic office (where I work), and in the local DMV. Whatever. I quit. Okay, I take it back. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. You better enjoy this chapter, or else I am going to hunt you down and show you the pain this chapter caused me. All 20 pages of pain. You better run, or I'll steal your lunch.

P.S.: Any errors in which a character does something, then does it again in the next paragraph are entirely my fault, because of the stiltedness of when I could write.

Reviewer Thanks/ Replies:

Herb: NK: Update soon... Sorry. Brief pause. I got nothing'. AB: Ah...the title...rather than debating over who owns rights of Sirius and his coming out of it, I think we should say thanks for the review, refer to the end of my general A/N in answer to the update soon and move on, shall we? NK: Agreed.

SOBs 4 Sirius 223: NK: Interesting name. Again. ASAP... As soon as possible. That leaves a conveniently wide gap... AB: clears throat Yet again good things come to those who wait yada yada yada. Thank you for the thank you for the thank you. We sincerely appreciate your politeness. I fear it has been lost on today's society. Damn kids. NK: When I was their age... AB: conveniently overlooks the fact that the authoresses are only recently no-longer children, heading out to the onslaught of the semi-real world commonly referred to as COLLEGE! YIPPEE! NK: COLLEGE! AB: blushes and looks away right...moving on... NK: Um... Exactly.

Andy: AB: Even though Andy failed to review... We will still sing to you! O wait! NK: why? AB: dons sparkly dress with a slit up to her mid thigh and lounges across a piano NK: Pause. AB: ((Description of your slutty dress!!)) NK: Mine? AB: Yes, of course you need one. NK: Um... it's... um... Blue? NK: And sequin-y. AB: sighs and takes over NK's description. NK is wearing a sinfully tight, leather skirt. It's also sinfully short. Because she really is quite the conformist, she's also wearing a poncho-hobo-sweater. And nothing under it. Her make up is downright thuggish NK: Oh please no. Not a poncho. Anything but a poncho. AB: Smirks It's dress like a hobo day! NK: It is? Why didn't anyone tell me? AB: Yes, I just told you. NK: ah. AB: This review has morphed into something quite ugly. So lets sing, shall we? NK: True dat. AB: Fo shizzle. Together:

Where have all the good men gone,  
And where are all the gods?  
Where's the street-wise Hercules  
To fight the rising odds?  
Isn't there a white knight  
Upon a fiery steed?  
Late at night, I toss and I turn  
And I dream of what I need.  
I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero  
Till the end of the night.  
And he's gotta be strong  
And he's gotta be fast  
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.  
I need a hero.  
I'm holding out for a hero  
Till the morning light  
And he's gotta be sure  
And it's gotta be soon  
And he's gotta be larger than life.


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